Beyond - Legends Come Back to Me - Luke/Mara

Summary:
What are the choices when the dark side of the Force is the only weapon that can be wielded against a mortal enemy?
Placed a year after "Survivor’s Quest".

"Come Back to Me"
by Jâd Sphera (JadeSphera).


Chapter 1

At the New Republic’s War Room, the description of the hopeless situation had just ended. Seven planets in four systems had already been under siege and all population had been exterminated in every one of them, no survivors left. All vegetal and animal life forms in each planet had been destroyed too. The violent menace was rapidly moving towards the core of the Galaxy where the more populated planets were located. The alien race responsible for all this destruction seemed immune to any weaponry the military had used against them. And they seemed to be resistant to any Force attack forms, which did not affect them fully. Some Jedi had succeeded to defeat a group of these creatures using their lightsabers, but it had turned out to be a slow and consuming task.

Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and head of the Jedi Order, watched in silence, evaluating the holovids, reports and information that had been briefed. This must be the threat the Chiss had so vehemently been warning them about a year ago, and later when they’d had their early encounters with the head representatives of The Empire of the Hand. It was too late to ask them now, their planet had been one of the first ones attacked, and their all too advanced technology had done too little to help them. Technology was not the answer here… maybe it was all down to lightsabers and the Force. His wife, the Jedi Knight Mara Jade-Skywalker, sat with him also studying every piece of information, all too knowing about the connection with what the Chiss had revealed to both.

The briefing was adjourned, and everyone dismissed. Luke and Mara left the War Room and shared their findings and conclusions while walking down the main corridor of the Imperial Palace.

“I can’t believe that all of our weapons together are not good enough. We’re merely making them itch!” Mara said feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at what she had just witnessed, what the holovids had showed. “Good thing that some Jedi have managed to get rid of some of these nasty creatures…” She added with a bit of satisfaction. “Perhaps now these moronic bureaucrats will finally understand the importance to have more Jedi in our ranks.” In this war, the Jedi available were clearly outnumbered.

For a while now, there had been reluctance from some of the high members in the Senate to increase the number of Jedi. Arguing that having that many force sensitive beings fully trained could represent a threat in the future if some decided to go dark. Their premise was that if there were less fully trained Jedi, they could be watched over more closely, and the probabilities of Sith arising would be smaller.

Mara ranted over this as they walked. Luke seemed absent-minded, with his thoughts on something else.

“Are you listening to me Farmboy?” Mara stopped her ranting and half questioned, half scolded her distracted husband.

Luke stopped walking.

“I think there’s one way to put an end to this…” Luke filled in grimly, almost whispering.

“What way?!!” Mara said exasperated while turning to face the Jedi and sensing a disturbing thought through their Force bond.

“A way that you are not going to like at all,” he answered in a calm, but stern tone.

Mara looked deeper into his eyes, she could not clearly understand what he meant, but there was something there that she was not liking indeed. “It has to do with the Force?” She carefully inquired, while glimpsing at something daunting in those blue eyes of his.

“They cannot be killed any other way,” Luke earnestly said trying to make Mara understand.

“We’re Jedi, we’ll kill them one by one!” She offered with pride in her voice, “We’ll bring every Jedi in the Academy into the fight!”

“There’re too many of them…we’re outnumbered as it is.” Luke stated trying to show reality to his wife. “And the Force is the only energy that can harm them.”

Suddenly, she understood. “No! That cannot be!” Mara commanded in frustration “Are you out of your mind Skywalker?!” She said rising her voice.

Luke rolled his eyes; nervously looking around, he grabbed her softly by the arm leading her to the terrace outside, closing the door behind them.

Once they were out alone, Mara paced for a few moments trying to calm herself. Luke simply stood watching her.

“The Galaxy cannot afford to have you playing hero on the loose!” Mara broke the silence. “You are not doing that Skywalker!” She demanded stopping in front of him, challenge in her stance.

“Mara, it’s the only way!” Luke reasoned. “You said it yourself, we’re just making them itch with our regular weapons! The Force can hurt them but there’s not enough Jedi -and not enough fully trained, to take over a whole race of those creatures; and lightsabers cannot be mass produced. And at the rate they’re gaining territory, they’ll wipe us off before we even get near to succeeding!”

“No. There has to be another way! We need to think harder, give ourselves a little more time,” Mara managed to say, while every possibility rumbled in her mind.

“We’ve already done that. You just saw it in there, EVERYTHING has been tried already. The brightest military minds of the New Republic were in that meeting, and no one has come up with a feasible plan.”

Mara looked at him, disbelief and despair showing in her face.

“We need the Force, Mara!” Luke urged, paused for a moment and then gravely added, “Although not the kind we’re used to call upon.”

“That’s precisely why I don’t like this!” Mara stressed while a sinking feeling settled in her heart.

“I don’t like it either! But we must do it! And you know I cannot ask the other Jedi to draw power from the dark… It’s simply too dangerous,” he countered.

Yes, the idea of having a full Academy calling upon the dark side of the Force was a dangerous one indeed.

“Then let Kyp help you!” Mara urged. “He’s also had his brush with the dark side, and so have Streen and Kyle. They’d be prepared!”

Bringing in the more experienced Jedi was a sound idea but letting the ones already enticed by the dark side to play a part in his plan was not something he wanted to consider.

“They could help, yes; but only in the light,” Luke stated firmly. “I couldn’t ask this from anyone… and no one else can know, we have to keep this quiet. I cannot encourage my students to do this sort of thing in cases of need. What would I be teaching them then?”

“Then let them all three turn dark and then YOU stop them,” Mara proposed. She was desperately running out of ideas, and in her own opinion these certainly were becoming stupider by the second.

Luke gave her a negative nod, “Mara, first: we cannot ask something like that of them. Second: even if they agreed, is too risky. We cannot count on them sticking to the plan once they turn; and I rather take the risk myself.” And although he was trying to hide it, Mara noticed how a deep sadness settled in his core. “I have to do this alone.”

“Let ME do it then!!” Mara offered in a last plead, grabbing the front of his tunic.

“Don’t be silly Mara…” Luke gave her a soft smile as he smoothed a lock of her red hair with his fingers, “…You couldn’t draw upon the dark side even if you tried, you’ve never been tempted.”

“Why you?” Mara questioned in desperation.

“Because I can do it,” he put in simply. “You know I’m the natural choice for this. Only a powerful force user could pull this off. My father was a powerful Sith, and…” Luke let out a sigh, “It’s in the genes, I suppose,” he smiled faintly.

“We have to consult with the rest… let them be aware!” Mara proposed trying to calm down.

“They’ll all help,” Luke agreed. “With the tactics and the military aspect of the whole mission. But just that. We won’t tell them about my real involvement in all this.”

Yes, no one could know about Luke’s plans.

“But… what happens if you can’t make it back?” Mara questioned her husband, worried about this whole idea and nurturing the hope of him being able to indeed make it back.

“I am not coming back…” He grimly said. “That’s where you come in…”

Mara did not like where this discussion was leading. Not one bit.

“You’ll have to take me down,” Luke added with simplicity, giving a little shrug.

Those words were precisely the ones Mara didn’t need, nor wanted to hear. “How can you ask me this?” She spat out in outrage.

“Well, I thought you might like to finally get the chance to do it… after all these years,” Luke half-teased, trying to lighten up the seriousness of what he was requesting from his wife. Yes, Mara had wanted to kill him when they first met; he had been her mark.

“If you’re trying to be funny you’re not doing a good job at it!” Mara snapped. This damned fool Jedi. Why did he always get on her nerves? What was all this about? To isolate himself and put his life on the line once again for the greater good? He was definitely out of his mind.

Mara took a deep breath trying to calm herself and to knock some reason into her strong-headed husband. “Well, you did this at Byss and everything came back to normal… So, you’ll do it again. I just don’t like the idea of you putting yourself through all of this for the Forces sake! Byss left you devastated, in the brink of going mad!”

“This time will be different… because I won’t be holding back as I did at Byss,” Luke revealed.

It suddenly hit Mara. Yes, he was being dead serious about this. In shock she gave several steps back, trying to recompose. She then stood there, shaking her head slowly in disbelief. “Listen to me Skywalker!” Mara demanded, “The Galaxy needs you here, safe and sound, to lead and to protect… not to become a martyr!

“No, Mara… What the Galaxy needs is to survive… to get rid of this threat… to be turn into a safe place again… so others can continue to live. I want you to live!” Luke stressed with his words the importance of the matter. “We have to be quick! If we don’t do this there’s not going to be a Galaxy left to be saved… We’ll be all doomed!” Luke gave his wife a pleading look. ‘You know I’m right about this…’ He sent out through the Force.

Mara turned around showing her back disgusted at the thought, feeling devastated at the prospect, but knowing.

Luke walked towards her and wrapped her in his arms, trying to calm down his worked-up wife; drawing upon all of his Jedi calmness himself.

“I wouldn’t ask this of you if you weren’t up to the task Mara. Believe me it is not easy for me either. I hate to put you through this, but you’re the only one who can do it,” he calmly said. “You’re powerful in the Force, and you know how to stay cool and focused when things get nasty. You know how to deal with a Sith, and this knowledge will give you an edge. Besides, you know me better than anyone.” He then turned her around to face him and looked her intensely in the eye, “Use every resource at your hand, but you ought to stop me once all this starts, before it gets too late… before I go too far,” he urged.

Mara’s world spun too fast around her. Did he just say the word Sith? What was this Sith talk all about? Oh Force! He was being deadly serious about it! But what in the Force was he saying… She couldn’t kill her own husband! Was this how it was supposed to be for them? After all they’d been through, was she doomed to fulfill her former Master’s last command no matter what?

She was a Jedi Knight, all right; and she had a duty towards the Galaxy. Her skills in the Force were tuned up and ready to go… but to think that she could take down Luke Skywalker turned into a Sith on her own… To kill the man she so deeply loved… She simply resisted to the idea of doing such a horrible thing.

‘I can’t do it!’ She told him without words.

‘Yes, you can… and you must… for everyone’s sake,’ Luke reassured her. ‘I might not be myself once I turn, but I will never hurt you… I promise!’ He continued while holding her tight against him, ‘And no matter how deep in the dark I am, I’ll keep my promise. And when the time comes… you have to use this to your advantage.’

Mara held to her husband as tight as it was possible, like if holding him this hard would avoid the imminent loss, not being able to hold back tears that she knew wouldn’t help either of them. Because no matter the outcome, turned Sith on the loose or dead, she was going to lose him forever.

Luke felt her weep, he knew that what he was asking of his wife was terrible… terrible for both… and the pain was unbearable. He held her tighter, as the chill breeze of the night softly ruffled their hair. Feeling her warmth against him was comforting. Two years of marriage seemed just too little time.

They simply had to make the most of the time they had left together.


oOo



New Republic Intelligence learnt about the exact location of the next planet where the alien menace was to strike down. As soon as this intel was provided the mission’s strategy was carefully planned. A strike team of Jedi – including the Skywalkers, was to be dropped off at Satorac, the next doomed world in the invader’s list.

Knowing that the possibilities of ending the alien menace in this mission were minimal, the efforts were focused on retrieving as many alien technology and weaponry as possible to bring back to the New Republic quarters. Once in NR possession, these samples would be scanned and studied to find any weaknesses and a possible way to counter-attack.

So, the plan was simple, but not necessarily easy. Nobody knew what to expect or what they would find.

With enough samples gathered, they were all to retreat when Luke gave the order. Having his team back to the safety of their ship and on their way out of the planet was important to Luke. He was deeply concerned about any of them getting hurt, once he was not himself anymore. With the team safely away, he could then follow through with his plan.

The Paramount Sentinel – a New Republic battleship, dropped out of hyperspace perfectly cloaked at the expected coordinates, that put a safe distance between it and any hostiles. There was something odd about the planet, the way it looked didn’t match the images in the reference data. But the coordinates were right, so this was Satorac.

The Team was at the ready and in no-time boarded an assault vessel. The smaller ship dropped into the planet’s atmosphere with all cloaking shields at full power. In the hopes of being able to turn this mission also into a rescue assault, they rushed into the planet. The ship’s sensors scanned the surface but were not able to pick up anything left alive to save. The only life signature that could be read was that of the enemy. They were down there, all right. By the hundreds of thousands. Nothing could be saved at this point, they had arrived simply too late. The vegetation of the whole planet had been ripped off too, the once lush agricultural landscape was now stripped down to rock and soil.

Mara looked around to the faces of the other Jedi, a calm but concerned expression remained in their faces. Then turned to look at her husband, his face impassive, his mind focused, but she could feel through their Force bond that in his heart an eerie feeling of doom sifted upon him.

Luke was well prepared for the task ahead, physically and mentally. He felt no worries about death. Dying had always been a sure possibility in every mission he’d been involved. He was even well known for rushing head-first into every dangerous situation. But this time it was somehow different… because this time he had chosen to die. The reasons for his decision were the ones that disturbed him. His heart dreaded what he was about to do. Once he was taken over by the dark side of the Force, he’d lose control over himself, and the possibilities of what he would be capable of – just like a flipped credit-coin, would lay in the air. It was ironic that the one thing he’d been fending off his entire adult life was the one that presented the only opportunity of survival for the whole Galaxy now. There was no other way.

He snapped out of his musings when he felt the gear of the ship change. They had arrived to the drop off point.

The ship hovered over a small plain surrounded by mountains that gave them a cover and a direct route to the landing spot of the main enemy forces.

Walking behind the rest of the Team, Luke approached the open hatch. Mara was already standing there. She was to remain with the ship until it was time, her own mission to fulfil later on.

Both gave each other meaningful looks, remaining silent.

‘Hunt me down until it’s done…’ Luke whispered to his wife through their Force bond.

Already feeling mournful, Mara gave him a positive nod. Looking up she reached his face with her hands, her fingers grazing his handsome face, and gave him a deep loving kiss. Luke answered the kiss, with all his love for her. Reluctantly he realized he had to let go, or he’ll never leave.

Luke then reached the hatch and turned around. ‘Goodbye my love,’ he sent out a last farewell through the Force. Not taking his eyes off her he let himself drop.

Carrying military backpacks, lightsabers and their sole command of the Force, Luke Skywalker and twelve other Jedi, free-falling managed the 100-meter drop without incident.

As they made their way across the plain and up the mountains Luke was able to witness the devastation and the horrors that had been unleashed upon the planet. This time he allowed his outrage, frustration and anger flow freely within, letting himself dwell in these feelings, harboring vengeful thoughts. It seemed hard at first, but once they gained territory and the scale of the massacre was displayed before his eyes, this all-to-well-known anger easily found a place in his heart. And the one thought that made way into his consciousness was one of revenge.

“How is this possible?” Kyle Katarn asked in shock.

“Their weaponry is really powerful,” Kyp Durron added.

“The atmosphere is getting poisonous,” Streen announced. “We better get moving.”

Streen reached up to the Jedi Master who kept the lead. “Luke, we better hurry. At some point we won’t be able to breathe.”

Luke nodded in acknowledgment. “All right. Listen up!” He called. “There’s nothing alive left, so this won’t be a rescue mission. Split in pairs and salvage anything of importance as fast as you can. Set your timers at zero-five hundred standard time. When the time strikes, gather whatever you find and get back to the ship immediately!”

Everyone acknowledged in understanding and got busy.

“Kyp!” Luke called the other Jedi, “I’ll take this route.”

“What? But that will lead you right into their forces…” the younger Jedi warned.

“We need to check them out. I’ll see what I can find. Whatever happens, at the strike of time make sure everyone gets back to the ship. Understood?”

Kyp nodded and affirmative response, a little unsettled by Luke’s shift in energy. It was a subtle shift, but he noticed. “See you at the ship, then,” he replied instead.

Luke was on his own now, just as planned.



oOo



Back in the assault ship Mara awaited. They had managed to touch ground in a secluded spot within a short distance from the drop off point, which provided the ship with all the cover they needed. She stood outside by the ship’s ramp, looking into the distance. She had never felt more rattled. Anguish and desperation creeping upon her, it was hard to keep her feelings at bay.

“Jedi Jade-Skywalker,” the ship’s pilot called after her. “We have remained undetected, but we are tracking a large mobilization of the enemy beyond the mountains. I did not want to jeopardize our cover by using the commlink. I thought you’d want to know.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” she addressed the other woman, turning around to face her. “Stand by at the ready. We don’t know if we’ll have to move before schedule.”

The Sergeant saluted and went back into the ship.

Mara turned around and continued scanning the surroundings as far as she could reach using her Force sense. She tracked her husband’s Force signature in the flow of all things, when she perceived a subtle shift in his energy… So, this was it. The beginning of the end.

At zero-five the team should start their way back to the ship, and once they were all back, she was expected to do her part.



oOo



After reaching the zenith, Luke walked down the hill letting himself connect unrestrictedly with the Force. Backpack already left behind, as he walked he looked down at the barren ground beneath his feet, it was supposed to be covered with crops. The landscape should have been adorned with scattered farms and fields teeming with vegetable, animal and sentient life. Now there was not a trace of what this place had once been. Without any restrain, he let himself connect with the anguish and pain of all the souls that had lost their lives in this very same place just hours before… He soaked himself in the rage that this provoked in him. He felt the anger sipping in. An alarm in the back of his mind called for caution, but this time he opted out from listening to it. Each step took him further and further. He let it all in, willingly. Submerging himself in the choking energy, which provoked something to stir deep within. An array of thoughts and emotions permeated by darkness showed themselves, once they were not contained, not censured. So, was this part of being a Sith? To live without censorship? To let everything come through unabashedly? This felt somehow… liberating.

As Luke went in deeper and deeper, a halo of yellowish energy circled his eyes, trying to set in. He walked further down, carefully assessing the area. He could sense the presence of the alien creatures nearby. There was no trace of where the buildings of this settlement might have been, it all seemed to be a continuation of the barren land he’d been walking on since he arrived on the planet.

Something caught his eye. As he approached he realized it was a big pile of corpses. All the sentient beings in the area had been gathered there and unmercifully executed; then piled up, like some sort of trophy. Innocent civilians of every age lay there. He clenched his fists and gave free rein to the brooding anger.

Luke followed his Force sense tracking the spot where the alien creatures had gathered. Using a Force Cloaking technique, he remained undetected. When he reached the clearing where they all gathered, he found creatures like nothing he’d seen before. Then, an unexpected realization unnerved him: The signature of the creatures’ vital energy was in the dark spectrum of the Force! So, this was why the other Jedi had had such a hard time using their Force techniques against them or tracking them down. But then, why was he getting away with it? He then realized why. The cold tint of the dark side was already with him… very deep within. He felt an automatic reflex to untangle from this cold embrace… to break free… No! He must not! He’d stay there, with the coldness. He’d come this far and had reached the point of no return. He had to see this through!

Looking down at the timer in his chrono, he realized the time to act had come. It was exactly zero-five hundred. No point in hiding any longer.

Luke showed himself on top of a nearby high boulder. The hundreds of creatures wailed in surprise at the stranger’s presence. In an instant, a dozen guns pointed at him and fired. The Jedi had his lightsaber at the ready and deflected every single bolt. The fire power of these guns did not look or felt familiar at all. In order to repel and take down all this much fire power, Luke let himself draw limitlessly upon the dark side. The time for his counterattack soon came. When he charged, the bright white-green blade hummed furiously as it made its way through the massive aliens, leaving behind lifeless lumps.

Luke dispatched the first wave of creatures with ease. After all he was the best swordsman in the Galaxy, and he was just going to show them what that meant. He’d finish them all!

Soon he realized his instincts had been right. These creatures were not affected by the light side of the Force, but the dark side seemed very effective. The darker the energy he drew from, the easier to go against them. Luke felt how his danger sense, his speed, his accuracy, his strength got all enhanced as he drew more and more dark Force energy. He felt inflamed with raw power.

These vile and hideous creatures deserved to die for what they’ve done to this and the rest of planets they had set foot on. This time it was all in his hands, he’ll show them a massacre of his own making. Fueled by a sentiment of righteousness, Luke charged again. They had to pay for what they’ve done! Frenzied by his need of revenge, this time he was much faster and a lot more effective. The aliens started to scatter all over the area, retreating when realizing that their attacker was relentless and could not be stopped.

Before the creatures could escape, Luke closed his left fist, with this creating a dome of energy that enclosed the whole area. The domed energy cut the enemy’s route of escape. Unable to see the dome, the creatures crashed dramatically against the edges.

“Bring your master to me!” The Jedi commanded in the aliens’ native language.

Too busy running for their lives, the creatures were dumfounded in fear, squashed together against the limits of the dome.

‘BRING YOUR MASTER TO ME!!!’ Luke ordered again, hammering the order into the aliens’ minds, making them hurt. The beasts wailed in pain, unable to make sense out of what was going on.

When they stopped screaming, the creatures hesitated, not yet recovered from the display of massive power they had just endured. Still, they did not provide their enemy with an answer.

Luke shook his head. “No use,” his words full of contempt. He lifted one of the creatures using the Force and brought it before him. He studied it carefully. They were built of organic matter, just like every other sentient being. “I wonder…” In the eye of his mind the dark Force user visualized ashes, dust, particles, molecules, the smallest composition of anything organic. The creature slowly disintegrated before him.

Luke snorted. Menacing yellow eyes, sunken face, dark aura… A deep darkness showed in his features and a halo of dark-red energy enveloped him. With a gradually changed physiognomy, he paused and looked at the remaining alien creatures… There were thousands of them before him, all frozen in panic. Waving his hand before the rest of the befuddled beasts inside the dome, he conjured the dark energy with disintegrating effects. One by one, they all slowly vanished, leaving behind piles of dust. Moments later, an eerie silence fell upon the area.

Well, it seemed now that he was going to have to find their leader himself.



oOo



The scout Jedi were coming back from the mountains now, each carrying a backpack full of everything that had been catalogued as forensic samples and was considered useful. Each Jedi went up the ramp without stopping, time was of essence and they needed to leave quickly. Mara had stayed at the top of the ramp, the Jedi brushed past her as they boarded. Her heart ached knowingly, Luke was not coming back with the rest.

The sun was low, announcing the mid-afternoon in the planet. In a moment, a soft but violent wind started to blow, the color of the sky changed too…. The energy of the surroundings shifted, and suddenly a huge disturbance was felt. Feeling a shiver going down her spine Mara called out the tech crew, “Monitor that nothing comes in or leaves the planet,” she gave the order.

The rest of the Jedi also felt the disturbance, reacting to the dark shift.

“Where is Luke?” Streen asked.

Kyp approached the redhead. “Mara, Luke is up to something and it cannot be good!” He expressed concerned.

“I’ll take care of it,” she bluntly answered. Without any more words, she brushed past him in a hurry and walked down the aisle heading to the weapon’s bay. Mara opened a big metallic cage and retrieved a med-pack along with a set of small explosives, a couple of stun devices and other gadgets.

“I’m coming with you!” The young Jedi offered.

“No, stay put! It’s an order!” Mara snapped.

“But, Mara…” Kyp objected.

“Cut the buts, Kyp; and do as I tell you!” Mara ordered. “The most important part of the mission now is to take back the forensics to the New Republic’s Head Quarters,” she reasoned.

Kyp assented in understanding.

As she walked back out, Kyle Katarn approached Mara with a questioning look on his face. Both men followed her to the bottom of the ramp.

“As soon as I’m gone, take off immediately and get out of here. Right after you dock the Paramount Sentinel let President Organa-Solo know about what has happened. Tell her Luke and I stayed back to contain the threat, but that she’ll need to move fast and blast off the whole planet if you don’t hear from me in two hours,” she instructed while attaching a blaster to her holster and going through the items in her utility belt, making sure her lightsaber was safely attached.

“What’s going on Mara?” Kyle asked his former classmate. “What is this darkness?”

“You don’t wanna know,” she shook her head as she finished with her utility belt check. “And I don’t wanna tell you,” she countered matter-of-factly. “If we make it back, Luke will tell you.”

Then she addressed both Jedi, “The Order will need you.” Softening her demeanor, Mara added, “Make Master Skywalker proud.”

Kyp and Kyle nodded in understanding and snapping a soldier’s salute to Mara Jade they headed back up the assault vehicle.

Mara saw the vehicle lift in the air and be gone into the sky. Now, she had a duty to full fill… One settled upon her by the highest command of the Jedi Order.

Mara Jade always obeyed orders and saw her missions through.



oOo



Identifying the source of the threat the alien creatures had mobilized to their enemy’s encounter. The weaponry attacks splashed harmlessly against the bubble of red energy surrounding their target.

Wave after wave, the former Jedi had managed to neutralize each one with his new-found power. Luke was handling the attacks from his enemy with his usual efficiency. At one point in the battle, he had the malign creatures literally pinned down with the Force. The dark side came to him so easily, so naturally. He wondered if this was indeed his true destiny.

Soon, Luke sensed another group of malevolent aliens moving towards him, this group larger than the ones before it. He waited with arrogant patience, the kind of patience the knowledge of being the stronger opponent can give, until he spotted them approaching downhill. Amongst the large crowd of newly arrived aliens, it wasn’t long before he found their first in command. The time of being patient had come to an end.

In a Force jump, Luke covered the several meters that separated him from the creatures’ leader. He landed right in front of it, just a few meters apart. With utter impassiveness, he eyed the massive creature. This one was clearly larger in size than the rest. But size was never a matter in the dealings with the Force.

“I am Luke Skywalker from the New Republic, the organized ruling power on this side of town,” he introduced himself speaking in the aliens’ mother tongue. The tone of his words serious and commanding but holding an underlaying mock.

The creatures’ eyes opened wide, evidently surprised when listening to someone foreign speaking their ancient dialect.

“I am Wohima, mighty warrior of the Hashta-Zan,” the creature growled in its own language. “And we are here to conquer and destroy this and every planet.” It eyed Luke with a terrible warrior-like and ferocious stare. The dark signature in these creatures was phenomenal indeed.

“Well, Wohima; as you can plainly see,” Luke tranquilly gestured towards the subdued aliens he kept glued to the ground, “You and your kind are not welcome here.” Still replying in the same ancient language.

“It does not matter. You will not stop us,” the beast threatened. “We will not rest until we achieve our ultimate goal: to remain the one and only race existing in every known Galaxy!” It cried.

They wanted it all for themselves, all right. In some way Luke could now relate to the creature’s sentiment. Diversity could really hold some problems.

For a few moments, they keenly looked at one another, studying the other intensely, measuring each other up. Luke smiled to himself, ‘mighty warrior’ or whatever it liked to call itself, this beast was not his match.

The tension hang in the air for a moment, like invisible discharges lashing out in anticipation.

And then… mayhem exploded.



oOo



Mara followed the dark signature in the flow of the Force. She knew this Force energy signature all too well. Back in her days with the Empire, as the Emperor’s Hand she had been trained by Palpatine himself to track it across the Galaxy, so she could hear his calling.

As she made her way, all she could find was bundles of ashes scattered throughout the terrain. ‘What is this?’ She wondered while a feeling of unease creeped in. She had expected to find hundreds of creatures sliced by lightsaber power, but this… It was all too disturbing.

A sudden flicker in the Force sprung her senses. She could perceive the emotions laying in the air: rage, surprise, disbelief, fear … but most of it, a primal sense for survival. The noise of multiple stomping footsteps caught her attention… running footsteps… and these were coming directly at her! Mara started her way towards the pounding noise, and in the distance, she discovered numerous creatures coming hurriedly in her direction. Had they located her without her realizing it? The aliens gained terrain and there was nowhere to hide or find cover in the small plain she had reached. She would have to face them head on. Still the creatures where not shooting at her despite their urgent pace.

Bracing herself she swung her lightsaber, the motion bringing the white-blue blade into existence, then awaited in an Ataru combat stance. When the distance was right, Mara sprang herself towards the enemy. As she struck down the first blow of her lightsaber she gasped when the blade did not connect… Just a brash cloud of gritty ash swept over her. She covered her face with her free hand trying to see among the projected ashes. The creatures… where not there! Not even one. For reasons unknown they had just vanished.

Mara grew even more troubled. What was Luke up to?

She found him in the center of a great plain, more piles of ashes in the vast surroundings, plus several creatures limp on the ground, still breathing but uncapable of moving. Among the haze of the destruction she could make him out talking to a strange alien looking creature he had pinned up in the air in a Force grip. The alien creature was terribly wounded and visibly in pain, dripping purple blood. The creature had a deep, pungent dark signature in it, but the dark aura that Luke irradiated was even more overwhelming.

For an instant Mara felt her determination falter. She never expected to find Luke this far gone, never expected he would go this deep under. As the Emperor’s Hand, she’d seen up close what the dark side of the Force was like, and to see her beloved husband under its influence was devastating. With desperation she tried to bring her mind back to the mission at hand and reason with herself; she could not let him be, not like this. Many things were at stake. She simply couldn’t… She shouldn’t! The Galaxy’s fate was at stake here.

Mara took a deep breath… With renewed determination she moved in closer, keeping her cover and shielding in the Force tightly. She wanted to listen to what was going on, and then make her move. She could only understand half of the conversation, but through the Force she could sense what was really going on.

“It’s not nice when you are not the bully anymore, isn’t it?” Luke matter-of-factly conversed with the alien leader. Now speaking Basic, but simultaneously translating into the alien’s mind with the aid of the Force. “You are such a fool Wohima… Thinking that you could overpower the dark side,” his voice sounding dangerously quiet. “Eye for an eye… Have you heard of that? Well, this is what you’re getting for slaughtering my people.”

The beast spat something in a strange alien language, its voice deep and frightening. “It does not matter. You, taking me down. You cannot stop us. We will come back in greater numbers!” It menaced Luke.

Luke stared at Wohima. “I think not,” he declared, his voice cooling down several degrees.

Brazenly reaching in, Luke pried into Wohima’s thoughts. Everything he needed to know was in there and he was going to just take it. The creature screamed wildly while the now Sith probed its mind.

In the alien’s mind, Luke found everything that needed to be known: their ships’ locations, their bases and the location of their home world. He saw a world that did not resemble anything he had seen or heard of before. The atmospheric conditions, the vegetation, the animal life forms, the creatures themselves… The culture and social structures of its inhabitants were different and unrecognizable to him. With cautious interest, he witnessed their sanguinary ways, their lack of compassion and kindness, their brutality. Only the strongest survived. There was ritual and honor. Advanced in their technology, but primitive in their ways. Yet, the alien creatures organized and lived in certain harmony, supported one another and thrived; how they achieved that was unconceivable to him. He hesitated for a second – they were sentient beings, like any other in the universe… With aspirations, beliefs and fears. But what they had done to Satorac and the other planets… The disruption, the carnage… No! These creatures did not deserve his compassion or second thoughts. Soon the outrage and frustration of what Luke had just witnessed occupied his soul and mind, leaving out any compassion or regret. These creatures deserved to meet the same fate as Satorac, they were a menace for his or any other Galaxy.

They had to be stopped, for good.

Going in deep beyond what he could had ever thought possible, Luke dived in the dwellings of the dark side. He felt something disjoin deep within his heart… Even though it felt alarming, he ignored the feeling and looked back into the darkness. Soon, only darkness enveloped him. The surge of dark power made him quiver. In his mind he visualized desolation, lifelessness… just like the one he sensed on Satorac; with a projection of his mind he willed this same energy of death to reach the alien battleships… then the alien bases… and finally the alien world. Gradually, life dimmed and ceased to be in every place Luke’s dark power touched.

As he completed his feat, with dark satisfaction Luke made sure to place every image of what he was doing in Wohima’s mind.

In the eye of its mind, the alien saw his remaining troops erased of existence, along with their ships above, their weaponry... Remotely, using the dark side of the Force, the now Sith systematically reached ships and their bases at different locations, and lastly their home world, turning into ashes every creature, inhabitant or remnant of their race. Drowned by the visions, Wohima screamed in terror and rage. Impeded from moving in the strong grip the Sith was holding it in.

Luke mused in wonderment, wiping this whole race out of existence had been incredibly easy. Today he had made possible what a few days ago seemed impossible. He had always been a fast learner, and now with the power of his mind fueled by the dark side he learnt even quicker. He had been right, the key to get what was needed relied upon using the other kind of Force; and as from now it would also give him everything he wanted.

Wohima slowly recovered, breathing with difficulty it declared, “You have gone far protecting your precious Galaxy.” The creature panted in exhaustion.

Luke pondered at the battered creature’s statement. No, the Galaxy did not feel precious to him anymore. “It is not precious to me. I just want it to go my way,” he simply replied.

The once Jedi Master felt weary. He was so sick and tired of the pettiness and the bickering of everyone around him. For the first time in many years, he saw a clear path towards achieving absolute peace in the Galaxy. He’d simply squash the troublemakers and the rest would have to go by the rules, his rules.

Softening his grip, slowly Luke levitated Wohima down and held the limp creature close to him, eyeing it. He could tell the proud creature would not last much more.

“I do not know what you are… or what you abide by,” Wohima stated perplexed.

Luke humored the dying alien, it was in a sense part of the last courtesies that a victor owed to the defeated enemy. “I guess I should honor the knowledge of the Sith Lords of the past,” he pondered over his own words, “but being frank, I’m not sure of that much just yet.” With this he felt he had satiated the alien’s curiosity.

Looking back through slit eyes, Wohima spoke, “It is never a good thing to live without a beacon or purpose beyond oneself,” it coughed. “As for me, I can say that I served my Nation my whole existence and I served it well.” Drawing in the last traces of strength, it continued, “I die now and will be resting with the gods of old.” Having said its last words, Wohima closed its eyes and expired.

“Go to your gods now,” Luke said with coldness. To experience the death of others now that he was on the dark side of things, was new to him. Now it did not pain him, it just felt natural, a part of the full circle.

The Sith then willed the creature to turn into ashes, letting these, drift softly in the air. Along with their leader, the rest of the remaining creatures also dissolved.

“A handy little trick this is…” Luke said absent mindedly while watching the ashes blow in the wind. The feeling of absolute power intoxicating his mind, his soul, his whole being... Yes! He could make the Galaxy go his way now… Just how it was meant to be. He would force things to be how they should. How right had Vader been when he offered this to him back at the cloud city of Bespin! But he hadn’t understood then. He’d bring peace to the Galaxy and get rid of those who opposed it. Peace at last! It was… so simple.

For moments that felt eternal, absolute silence reigned across the expanse.

Mara watched in terror as the ashes of Wohima and the rest of its compatriots floated away. Luke had killed the beasts so ruthlessly… Proof that the man she loved was lost and gone forever.

“Ashes to ashes… some say.” Luke murmured, putting up his hand and rubbing his fingers one onto the other, contemplating the fine dust on them. He was all covered in creature dust and his skin was starting to itch, so he better got to it. His real attention was now on a presence he had perceived from the moment she had reached the clearing.

“I know you’re there,” Luke calmly called out.


To be continued...




Chapter 2


A terrible electric storm was announced by the strike of lightning, the sky turned grey and dark, the blow of the wind intensified rapidly.

Mara showed herself, holding a mean gadget in her hand.

“The old thermal detonator play,” Luke called out, rolling his eyes. “Mara, you disappoint me. You ought to do better than that!”

Listening to him talk like this, almost made him sound like the former Jedi teacher scolding her, but Mara knew better. The glittering yellow eyes and dark aura that Luke sported were sure enough indication that she should forget about ever trusting him again. He had now turned into a very dangerous enemy.

Carefully Mara stepped forward and moved closer to her adversary. She noticed her husband’s changed features, his expressive sky-blue eyes where replaced by a pair of menacing yellow orbs, his sandy blond hair was darker and the flesh on his face had sunken in like if he had lost a lot of weight, his skin was pale with an ashen tint… He looked ill and in pain. Not from a physical illness, but from an illness of the soul. Their strong Force bond was still intact, and through this bond she could read his lingering pain, rage, resentment and guilt… all coming from the deepest corners of his soul. She saw the orphan, the endured loss, the man many times betrayed, his innocence robbed away by cruel truths. Surely, he had willingly drawn upon all these lingering things to fuel his connection to the dark side and these were now keeping a strong hold on him. But also, this was all Luke; it was just a side of him she had never seen, or at least not this openly.

The Sith tried to pry her thoughts, but her shields were strong and resilient. She had been very well trained indeed, first by Palpatine and later by himself. She was good!

Luke very well knew she was coming after him. That’s what they had agreed. To his own surprise, he felt no rush or fear, he was even eager to find out how this was going to play out.

“You have to stick to the plan, remember?” Mara urged in hope, trying to avoid the upcoming confrontation.

“Yes, the plan,” Luke nodded with a bit of irritation. “Well, it doesn’t work anymore… So, I’ll have to change it.”

“Well, change it in a way that we can go back home together,” she continued.

“Home,” Luke snorted. “No. I’ll find a new home. One where I can do as I please.” He then added, “In this place of yours you call “home” I can’t be myself. And I am sick of everyone deciding what it needs to be of me, what I should do for them. Saying they trust me but always policing me behind my back.” He recalled having noticed hidden plots and fears in those in the high ranks he spent time with. “I’ll give them something to really be afraid of. And from now on, I will control my own destiny.”

“Come on, you have always controlled your destiny. Have made your own choices,” Mara countered, trying to extend the conversation while slowly setting her plan into motion. “I surely have done that with mine.”

“Don’t give me that. You don’t even believe it yourself!” He replied cynically. “Did you have a saying when Palpatine kidnapped you from your parents and put you through military training since the age of six?”

“When you put it that way…” she countered.

Mara moved slowly, circling around the clearing of soil they were standing on. Watching as Luke mirrored her movement also circling to his right as to keep his distance from her.

“You never disclosed to me your real hidden ambitions about controlling the fate of the entire Galaxy,” Mara continued, risking a glimpse towards the direction Luke was moving towards. ‘Good!’

“I am going to fix it. That’s all,” he answered plainly.

“Have you picked a name?” Mara asked.

Luke looked at her with some confusion, then it clicked. “A Sith name?” He questioned amused.

“Sure. Why not?” Mara countered. “If you are going all Sith on me, you might as well follow tradition.”

“Would you change your surname to match mine?” Luke added for the sake of conversation.

“Not a chance. I like mine just fine,” Mara replied.

Luke waved off Mara’s words. “The name is not important!” He dismissed. “Why should I change my name? If this is who I am truly. I’ve always been this.”

It pained Mara to hear his words, but she couldn’t afford to get distracted. “Luke Skywalker gone rogue,” she continued. “Just imagine that!”

“No. Just gone all powerful,” he answered with a smug look. “You don’t understand. I can see so many things now. Things I didn’t see before… This is my birthright!” Excitement evident in his words. “It is all just so simple, so straightforward… No more curves, or bends, or trying to find middle ground…”

He was almost there…

“Mara, you’re stalling,” he stopped moving and bluntly told her. “Do you really think that you’re going to make me walk down that way?” Luke pointed at the spot from where Mara had emerged. “Ok, I’ll humour you,” he said as he carelessly walked towards it. When he reached the expected spot, an electro-net – the type that was used for hunting large predators, spun open towards him in an intent to trap him. Drawing on his newly charged-up abilities in the Force Luke stopped the net mid-air and let it drop on the ground harmlessly, crushing Mara’s hopes with it. So, whether she liked the idea or not, she was going to have to fight him.

Luke turned around giving her a knowing look. Yes, they were going to have to fight this through.

“Well, a girl can hope,” Mara countered sarcastically.

Suddenly with one wave of his hand Luke sent the electro-net flying towards Mara in an intent to have her trick back-fire on her. Jedi danger senses ringing, she catapulted herself with a Force enhanced jump, barely missing the projectile.

Mara rolled on her shoulder, easing her fall and quickly getting up… Then threw the thermal detonator in her hand at him, using it as a distraction – all too well knowing that he was going to deflect it. He did so easily, sending the device flying up towards the sky where it exploded without causing harm. By that time, Mara had already drawn her blaster. Firing repeatedly, she hit her mark every time.

Although each met their target, the blaster bolts got absorbed in the bubble of dark red energy that surrounded the Sith, doing no harm.

Luke pulled with the Force, loosing off the blaster from her hand, taking it in his and instantly turning it into ashes at his touch. A smug look of enjoyment on his face.

‘Sith-spit!’ Mara was going to have to take this to the next level.

“Watch your language!” Luke scolded her in amusement. Then turned to Mara, a dangerous look in his eyes, “It didn’t take you long to make up your mind… It hurts a little, coming from my own wife.”

“What is left in you is not my husband. My husband is no more!” Mara challenged. “That relation gone for good, I’m nobody’s wife… And this only turns me into a real pain in your Sith ass,” she warned.

Luke chuckled at his wife’s words, perfectly aware that Mara was not simply all talk. Yes, he knew she meant it and was coming after him indeed.

“Of course, you could come to my side willingly.” He sighed, “But knowing you… I won’t even try to convert you!” He added in a calm tone.

Mara – with her exhaustive Imperial training, had always been better than Luke in tactics and hand-to-hand combat, but Luke had always out bested her at swordplay and the skills in the use of the Force; and with his now dark-side enhanced abilities he was clearly superior. But Mara perfectly knew what made Sith tick, and this was a clear advantage she intended to use.

One thing she knew, is that Sith loved to talk. Sith Lords loved to brag and deeply enjoyed the sound of their own voices, that never failed. So, she was going to try to keep him distracted talking about his great plan. That always worked when Dark Lords were involved.

“Yeah. Now you’re going to tell me how you will turn every Jedi at the Academy to the dark side, and how you’re going to change the curricula I suppose,” she suggested.

“No, Mara. You are getting it all wrong… I won’t even try with the rest. I don’t need allies… They always turn out to be too opinionated,” Luke admitted. “All I have to do is to think of the Academy and everyone in it… and it would be done,” he finished with morbid excitement.

‘No!’ Mara felt horrified. To even think that Luke was considering it… She was not going to let that happen! Anger and frustration creeping in. Her anger had always been her best ally; an anger that did not draw upon the Force, but from her own will and determination.

“I’m done talking to you!” She declared. Then a threat in a low, hard voice, “Let’s get down to business.” Mara set herself in a combat stance and drew her lightsaber. “You made me agree to taking you down. And I’ll make sure of that. I am not going to let another Palpatine to arise!” She declared while igniting the white-blue blade. “I will kill you! You’re going down… Sith!”

Luke looked at her, remembering his own words of days before. “I’m sorry my love. I have changed my mind, and I cannot let you do that,” he stated with casual certainty. His lightsaber drawn, the ignited white-green blade glittering in the stormy background.



oOo



With unquestioned expertise, both Force wielders openly displayed their attuned abilities and lightsaber forms. This lightsaber duel had nothing in it that resembled the numerous sparring sessions that Luke and Mara had shared over the years. This time it was serious, to the death.

Although Luke’s words and demeanor had remained calm, his actions were full of fierce warrior determination. He was possessed! He fought fiercely, meaning it. As the celebrated Jedi Master, he’d always been feared and respected as a swordsman. It was very well known that he knew how to use his weapon with elegant grace and flawless efficiency. His movements, now fueled by the dark side of the Force, showed primal viciousness these had lacked before.

After being used to hours and hours of sparring and training together, Mara could see this feral change in her husband very clearly and knew she ought to be careful. She compensated what she lacked in sword power using her Imperial tactical training, outsmarting Luke every time he tried to put her in a tight spot. The planet’s atmosphere wasn’t cooperating either, becoming more and more hostile as the minutes passed. Mara found herself forced to trust blindly in her Force sense. A mistake would cost her her life.

Jedi senses in full alert, Mara leaped high on a set of tall, large boulders, trying to put some distance between her and the Sith; she needed to regroup, to rethink her strategy. In no time, Luke leaped up and forward shortening the distance she desperately tried to put between them. He had kept pushing her limits and at this rate she was going to run out of ideas and strength. She needed to do something and quick!

Standing on the large boulders, both contenders tried to anticipate each other’s movements, lightsabers flashing and crackling at every contact. They came to a standstill, then the movement of one of the boulders broke their lightsaber lock.

Luke stared at Mara cunningly, and gave her cynical smile. He knew she was struggling. In a rapid move he closed his left fist, making the boulder they were both standing on to quickly disintegrate. Losing her footing Mara fell several meters down with the rubble. The unexpected move did not provide her with enough warning; at not being able to react fast enough, she plummeted amongst the loose stones and pebbles, landing hazardously at ground level. She had barely hit the ground when she was already back on her feet, just in time to block with her lightsaber a menacing white-green blade.

The two lightsabers locked furiously, spatting sparks. The strong winds flapped their clothes, both fighting to keep their balance.

“I will make you yield!” Luke’s voice menacingly rose amongst the thunder storm.

“I never knew you could be such an arrogant *******,” Mara angrily countered, wincing at the strain she felt in her arms and back.

“I can feel you’re burning out Mara,” Luke declared. “Just give it up, would you?” He menaced, clearly exasperated. He’d killed before, countless times! Why couldn’t he just kill the woman and be done with it?

Unlocking their lightsabers, they exchanged powerful blows, both blades clashing one onto the other. Starting yet one more round.

Luke was getting tired of this. “Enough!” He yelled, disarming her with a powerful gesture.

Mara’s lightsaber flew off her hand and dropped to the ground, a few meters ahead of her, lifeless. They both raced towards the weapon with the Force, but Luke beat her to it. In an instant Mara back-flipped putting a reasonable distance from her attacker. Slowly, but with menacing determination, he then walked towards her… an ignited lightsaber in each hand.

At the sight of what was approaching Mara didn’t waste her time. She reached into her utility belt hurriedly. It was already too late, as she felt the unearthly feeling of a Force grip taking hold of her.

Luke moved towards Mara, closing down and clipping his own lightsaber to his belt; the other lightsaber still humming in his left hand. Standing in front of her, Luke released his Force grip, to hold her by the throat with his free right hand, pulling her up and towards him. She could barely touch ground with her toes. The Sith held the ignited lightsaber at shoulders height, the tip pointed at her face.

“Give it up! Now!” He demanded clenching his teeth in frustration. “I have been too patient with you.”

Yes, he was right. Too patient, Mara admitted. Why hadn’t he just killed her already? A glimpse of hope burned in her heart.

“You can’t kill me!” She gave him a knowing look.

“Oh, yes I can!” He added irritated, squeezing a little bit harder.

“No… you can’t…” Mara panted, holding herself on Luke’s arm with both hands. Force! It was hard to breathe! Even more to try to articulate anything! “Because you cannot bring yourself to do so!” She finished with difficulty.

Making a small pause, the Sith tilted his head. There was true in her words… And this was plain annoying! Why he couldn’t simply kill her? Just like he had done with every alien creature on the planet an hour ago. This was overwhelming, and it plainly enraged him. “Can’t I?” Luke challenged in irritated retort. “Perhaps I cannot bring myself to give you a clean, swift death… but I can certainly do this to you!” In a surge of rage, he made Mara burn.

Mara cried in pain as she felt numerous tiny parts of her skin flake off in ashes. “Stop it!” She yelled through her pain.

The effect was brief, but painful.

With her lightsaber in his hand – the blue light of the blade casting a bizarre light on their faces, the Sith pondered at the options. He really wanted to be over with all this nonsense. Pressing matters of Sith nature were at stake. Still holding her by the throat and squeezing a bit more, Luke pulled her closer, at eye level. Their faces just a couple of inches apart.

Maybe he could indeed do it after all. “To think that I don’t even need a lightsaber to do this,” he told her, his voice soft but definitive.

Panting in pain Mara eyed him too. “If it is all the same to you… I think I’ll borrow yours,” she countered as she called Luke’s lightsaber to her hand.

The weapon had been hanging from his belt all this time. When she noticed, she then decided to make the most out of that slim chance. Upon reaching her hand the lightsaber ignited, and promptly Mara stabbed the white-green blade right through the left thigh of her opponent. The bright blade cleanly went through skin, muscle and bone… resurfacing on the other side. Without slashing, Mara just kept the blade dug in her enemy’s leg. She then released the lightsaber’s switch closing it down, but still gripping it tight in her hand.

Groaning in pain, Luke plunged down to the ground when his leg could no longer support him. Instinctively – trying to relieve the pressure, Luke released Mara and her lightsaber, while bending over his injured leg. Mara landed on her right hip in front of him, breathing heavily as she tried to not black out and to quickly recover.

The feat had taken a split second. Changing the odds. This was her chance and she was not going to waste it. Whatever she planned to do, needed to be done now.

Crawling on her knees Mara came in close range to her fallen adversary, reached out with her hand and with a quick slap she attached a sonic stun grenade to the right side of the Sith’s head. The moment she released the device it went off in a big bang.

The sonic blast made them both fly a 20-meter distance in opposite directions.

Luke landed against a wall of rock rubble dislocating his left shoulder with the impact. Hit with a surge of pain, Luke groaned deeply. He had to finish this! Drawing upon his unbending tenacity, he got up almost immediately. Staggering, he managed a couple of weak steps… Then collapsed unceremoniously.

Mara had been thrown to the opposite side and had landed skidding on her side over a flat, mushy surface. She managed to sit up, her ears ringing. Although she had shielded herself in a protective bubble of the Force, the residual energy of the sonic blast had managed to hit her. Although it had not hit her with its full intensity, she still had gotten a bit stunned by it. Working as quick as possible, she retrieved an adrenaline pack from her survival kit and gave herself the chemical shot in her thigh. This ought to help her to see things through. Feeling the adrenaline kicking in, groggily she got up. Still with Luke’s lightsaber in her hand, Mara walked towards where her husband lay.

She found him on his back, blood coming out from his nose and ears, greatly stunned, his body unresponsive, struggling and frantically trying to recover from the sonic blast he’d just received at point-blank range in the head. The sonic wave had shot him so direct and so unexpectedly that he’d had no warning time. It was a good thing that Sith could not use the Force to heal, at least not in the way Jedi could, Mara realized with relief. ‘That should be enough to scramble his brain for a while and keep him confused,’ she then thought.

Mara kneeled beside Luke. Dragging him by the front of his tunic made him sit up, leaning back his torso against the nearby rubble.

When feeling her near, Luke turned violently and, using the hand of his unharmed arm, grabbed her strongly by her wrist… He breathed heavily, fighting disorientation, too confused and too debilitated to do more.

Mara leaned upon her enemy. Angrily, she yanked her wrist free from his hold and put one knee of hers to each side of him, straddling him. Face to face. She reprimanded her husband between short breaths and clenched teeth, “This Sith act of yours doesn’t suit you. It’s time to drop it!” She said with severity. “The one thing this has achieved though, is turning you into a lousy keeper of promises.”

Holding onto the lightsaber’s tilt, she pressed it against the Sith’s chest.

All she had to do was to push the switch.

Mara felt exhausted and when realizing what she was about to do, she could not stop tears bursting from her eyes… Anguish squeezing in her chest. There he was, the love of her life. Luke Skywalker turned into something abominable and she still loved him. ‘There should be another way… This is not fair!’ She told herself while hot tears burned in her eyes. In between sobs, she forced herself to overcome her emotional anguish. Taking a long, deep breath she then demanded, “You made a promise to me, remember?” Then pleaded, “You promised!”

Critically trying to put the thoughts in his mind together, Luke could faintly hear Mara’s muffled words, with no clear meaning to him. She was saying something about a promise? … ‘A promise he had made?’ He looked up and watched her intensely, his vision blurred, confusion showing in his eyes.

Mara’s demeanour softened when looking at his features this close, still recognizable under that dark aura. For the first time since their fight had begun, she looked back at him with loving green eyes. “Luke, come back…” She pleaded in a whisper. “Come back to me!” Fully opening her side of their Force bond to him, she kissed him deeply.

The Sith felt the warmth of her lips on his cold flesh, feeling a sudden surge of lust taking over him and responding to the touch with a kiss of his own. As the kiss deepened and intensified, something within him moved… Something that had lay lethargic deep within and that was slowly awakening from a deep slumber. As he answered the kiss, he recognized the connection, the bond in the Force they shared. Dear memories imprinted in his heart fluttered back to life. He remembered his love confession… The first time they made love… Their wedding day. His mind flooded with images of joy and meaning, trust and survival.

At the feel of love back in his kiss, Mara’s hand dropped the lightsaber. Both her arms wrapped her husband in a tight embrace. ‘I love you.’ ‘I love you.’ ‘I love you.’ ‘I love you.’ She sent through the Force. Then, felt Luke melting in her embrace. He had come back! Had he? Was this even possible? Wasn’t she fooling herself?

It was when an unmistakable shift in the Force was felt… And then she knew for sure. Luke had come back!

As they parted, Mara looked at the face of his beloved Jedi. Luke’s blue eyes opened, a different kind of blue, but definitely her husband’s eyes. The dark veil had just been lifted.

“Welcome back, Jedi.” Mara smiled faintly, to let herself drop on him soon after, completely worn out.

“Mara? Mara!” Luke aguishly called her. Straightening her up with his one good arm. He looked at his wife as tears he could not suppress ran down his dirtied cheeks.

Mara looked ragged and bruised, her clothes torn and scorched. Her silky red hair messy, her beautiful face covered with ashes and dirt. Numerous burns and cuts showing on her features and body. Marks of fingers on her neck…

Luke gasped at the realization. He had done this to her!

“Mara… no, no, no, no!” He sobbed, holding onto his wife.

“I think my ribs are broken,” she managed to say in a faint whisper.

“Oh! I’m sorry Mara… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Luke wept as he sent a wave of healing light Force through his wife’s battered body.

Mara felt the warm wave envelope her. He was back! Luke was back! Her joy was much greater than the pain she was feeling at the moment. Once in the past Darth Vader had opened up to the light and had been able to turn to the good side. She had just hoped that the same spark dwelled within Luke. She gambled and had counted on it, and it had worked.

Sitting with Mara on his lap, Luke felt great remorse. “Forgive me, please forgive me…” He pleaded repeatedly.

Mara looked up at him lovingly, caressing one cheek of his with her hand. With the darkness dispelling, his features had started to change back to those of the man she had loved for many years. The man she’d continue to love for years to come. “Yes, I forgive you,” she winced. “Now stop your babbling and put me in one on those healing trances of yours, would you?” She asked. “That is if you want to have a wife for a while longer,” she finished with her characteristic black humor.

Luke nodded, “I will put you in it now. Ok? ‘I love you.’ ”

He carefully laid her down next to him and put his fingers over her forehead. With great care, he administered the Force frequency intended to make her fall in the trance. In a few seconds, Mara drifted into it. Once done that, he reached for the commlink in his belt. He didn’t have it. He then searched for the commlink in Mara’s utility belt. Luckily the small gadget should still be there. He found it!

“This is Luke Skywalker. Strike Team Alfa-one-zero. Do you copy?” No answer seemed to come through, just static. “I repeat. This is Luke Skywalker. Strike Team Alfa-one...” He didn’t get to finish.

“Master Skywalker! This is General Sel Armák of the New Republic’s Paramount Sentinel. Happy to know you’re alive!” The voice in the commlink cheered.

“Jedi Jade-Skywalker and I have been severely injured. I am afraid we cannot make it to the rendezvous-point.”

“We are tracking your commlink signal and sending a rescue team right away,” General Armák prompted. “We are not getting any more life-form readings, but the two of you. Are all the creatures gone?” The General asked, perplexed.

“Yes… They’re all gone,” Luke confirmed grimly.

“The rescue team is on its way. They’ll get down there shortly. Stay put.”

“Acknowledged,” Luke responded. “Please, hurry!” He managed to add in a weary voice, a knot in his throat. He was on the verge of breaking down.

Luke waited. Sitting limp on the same spot where Mara had beat him; his wife submerged in a healing trance, her damaged body stretched out by his side. The Jedi’s head buzzed like a swarm of piranha-beetles and ached like hell. Dizzy and disoriented, he felt immensely tired. With the help of the Force, he ran a quick check on his vitals… He had a dislocated shoulder, an already cauterized big hole in his left thigh and a fractured skull. He could barely hear and could feel blood coming out of his ears. His nose was bloody too. He desisted from moving as every time he tried needles of pain shoot all over his body. At one point he went deaf. He had started wheezing, the poisonous atmosphere was already affecting him; it seemed that the planet – doomed by the Hashta-Zan, had already turned inhabitable. Beyond his physical pain, he could identify something deep and acute cutting through the fabric of his conscience… The pain of what he knew he’d done.

Luke was aware of the rescue team by the search lights of the shuttle and the sense of the rushed paramedics tending to them. Although he tried, he could not make out any faces through the breathing masks of their rescuers… ‘Was that Han?’ He couldn’t be sure. Once he saw Mara receiving first aid and taken away in a med-pod, he let himself drift into his own healing trance.



oOo



Leia Organa-Solo watched her brother and sister-in-law be tended to by the staff and med-droids of the Medical Centre at the New Republic’s Head Quarters in Coruscant. They had both arrived in dire state, submerged in bacta-tanks. What had exactly happened back on Satorac? Han had been there, going down to the planet in Luke and Mara’s rescue. The Corellian had come back uneased, rattled… and had spoken to her about the state they had found them; but no-one had seemed to have witnessed anything.

Three days ago, Luke and Mara had arrived to Coruscant deep into a Jedi healing trance. They both showed the signs of battle and ferocious lightsaber dueling, things Leia was in a position to recognize. Their clothing had been badly burnt or torn and had had a high content of organic ashes embedded into the fabric… Leia really wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the truth about were these ashes had come from. She got an eerie feeling just by thinking about it. Both Jedi had been picked up by the rescue team of the Paramount Sentinel, both had been found severely wounded and had needed an immediate bacta-tank submersion as soon as they had been brought on board, remaining submerged until their arrival to Coruscant.

Leia had not gotten the official version of things yet, about what had happened on Satorac… but from the bits and pieces she had been able to gather in the debriefing of the Jedi Strike Team and other people involved in the mission – about how the creatures had been so rapidly wiped off, she could pretty much deduct what had happened.

For the past three days, Leia and Han had been visiting the unconscious Jedi, keeping track of their recovery. Han seemed to resist to the idea, but from her brother’s state, Leia could tell that the Jedi Master had risked going into a very dangerous path. Her Jedi skills were not fully developed, but were developed enough to know and sense that the dark side always left an eerie tint to one’s Force signature.

On the fourth day Luke woke up alone in the Medical bay. His left thigh patched up, but no support instruments attached to his body. He could hear the hums and beeps of the different medical equipment and could sense a few med-droids going about their business. He remembered he had put himself into a deep Jedi healing trance and had set up the cue to come out of it once his vitals stabilized. With certain grogginess he recalled upon the last events. Panicking for a moment, he used his Force sense to trace his wife’s presence, relieved when sensing her in the next cubicle. ‘She was fine!’. Both Jedi seemed to be the only patients in that section, probably labeled as high priority.

With difficulty, Luke got up and got off his bed. Limping on his good leg he approached the bed where Mara lay. He found her still deep in the Jedi healing trance he had put her into, with a few pieces of medical equipment still attached, registering her heartbeat and breathing; everything read stable and between normal range. Using the Force, he did his own scanning of her vitals… Everything seemed to be on the mend.

Pulling a stool nearby, Luke sat next to his wife. Watching her laying like this, she looked as she were only asleep. There were no marks, or any trace of injuries left. He then recalled on her state at the end of their duel… The multiple wounds he had inflicted on her, her exhaustion when being pushed over her limits, her vital force slowly drifting… Tears welled up in his eyes. He had done this to her.

Memories of what had happened back on Satorac floated in his mind. He remembered everything quite vividly, it seemed that his deep brush with the dark side had imprinted these memories with a life of its own. He remembered how the darkness had claimed him completely… How his abilities had been enhanced, his fighting of multiple opponents, how ruthlessly he had disposed of their leader… All the lives that had succumbed at his own hand… These memories pained him greatly. In some sense he had known all along that what he had set himself to do was going to be terrible… but he hadn’t expected to survive to remember. Yes, Mara was supposed to have taken care of that… He had not been supposed to turn back from the dark, but things had unfolded in unexpected ways.

Mara had fought him with all her might. All the pins and needles he now felt in his body had been put there by her. He knew Mara would kick his butt! A little chuckle of satisfaction escaped his throat, he certainly had deserved it. Still, she had refrained from killing him. Mara had not killed him because she had not wanted to, because she had put her trust in the love they shared. She had succeeded, at almost the cost of her own life. He had hurt her, badly… and felt great remorse for physically hurting Mara that way. And even though he tried, he had not been able to kill her either.

Aware of it or not, in his attempt to let uncensored all his deepest feelings and desires, he had also left uncensored the one thing that had saved him: his everlasting love for her.

While immersed in his thoughts, Luke felt the comforting presence of his sister. Shortly after, she entered the room.

“Hey… how is she doing?” Leia asked softly while moving close to her brother.

“She’s doing better… She’ll sleep for a few more hours… The healing trance I put her under is a very deep one, suitable to treat the seriousness of her wounds,” he slowly said while caressing his wife’s limp arm.

Leia stood in silence, glancing at her brother, noticing his red eyes and sensing the deep sadness and pain he was experiencing. She pulled a nearby chair and sat next to him.

“And… how are you doing?” She carefully asked.

Luke turned to her, deep remorse showing in his eyes. He was pale and had dark circles around his eyes. He looked… unsettled.

“I was the one who hurt her…” He confessed. “Intentionally!”

Silently, Leia put a hand on her brother’s shoulder, intending to calm him down.

“She tried to stop me… I had asked her to do so… We had an agreement,” Luke continued. His voice low and sad as he laid out the facts.

“And she did,” Leia urged.

“What if I had killed her!” He said alarmed, raising his voice a little.

“You would have never done that, Luke,” Leia reasoned.

“How do you know?” He desperately claimed.

“Because you love her that much…” She simply stated.

Leia was right.

She trailed off. “The samples of weaponry and equipment that your team managed to salvage have given us a clear notion of the technology used by this race. They seem to absorb all kinds of energy, but these cannot absorb the energy of lightsabers.” Leia informed her brother trying to cheer him up, “It will take us a while, perhaps years. But if they come back, we will be prepared.”

“They won’t come back,” Luke replied with eerie certainty.

Leia looked back at her borther with an intrigued look on her face, somehow afraid of what she would hear next.

“I wiped them all off,” he confessed.

The Princess couldn’t say anything to that.

As they sat, a turmoil of thoughts and memories rushed in Luke’s mind.

“I should face Court-Martial,” Luke stated, opening up to his sister. “On the grounds of crimes of war.”

Leia looked at him in shock. “Luke, no one is going to want to put you on trial for what you’ve just done. Everybody agrees that you and Mara went to great lengths to make us safe again. You saved us all!” She tried to knock some sense in his brother’s reasonings, “It was the only way!”

“The end does not justify the means, Leia,” he blatantly put.

“In this case the final aim was so important that any way of achieving it was acceptable!” Leia countered. “And I am telling you this as Chief of State.”

“There are things that will never be acceptable,” he murmured.

They both sat next to each other, mute by the seriousness of the implications.

Luke broke the silence, “I can still hear them… their screams in my head…” He declared, a haunted look in his eyes. “They stay with you.”

Leia knew what he was referring to, but she felt she had to ask, “The ones you killed?”

Luke nodded and then turned his face away, not feeling able to hold her gaze.

After a short pause, without turning to face her, he spoke up again, “Now I know why it is so hard to return to the light… When everything you’ve done under that dark influence will haunt you forever.”

“Sometimes it takes more courage to fall and pull yourself up again, than to keep yourself from falling, Luke,” Leia earnestly told her brother.

This time Luke turned to face his sister. “But… what I did… I wanted to do it! It was ME willing to!” Luke confessed to her. “I do have those dark desires Leia, deep inside of me… Right next to the good things I might wish for.”

“Then you get to choose!” Leia squeezed his hand gently, “And you’ve always chosen wisely… and because of that I feel deep respect and admiration for you. Whether it is light or dark, you will continue to make the right choices,” she affirmed.

Leia looked at her brother… An immense feeling of warm love and acceptance in her heart. A few days ago, he had made a very hard choice… He had given up on his own happiness, on his own life… On his own soul! All just for doing what he thought was the right thing to do. And with that decision made, he had saved the entire Galaxy.

She then noticed Luke looked so vulnerable and yet so strong… It was in his vulnerability where his strength resided. He’d be all right, she just knew.

“I am proud of you brother… of what you did to save us all,” she declared.

Sister and brother, they both remained silent, comforted by each other’s presence.

Concerned, Leia spoke into the silence, “You should be resting, you have your own healing to do.”

Luke nodded in understanding.

Kissing him softly on the cheek, she left the room. Luke smiled at her and thanked his sister as he watched her leave the med station.

This experience ought to make him look within, to all that dwelled in the hidden corners of his being, to all his unresolved issues… With every unresolved issue there was always a door to open up to the dark side. He then realized how tired he was… tired of fighting, of the long years being in the fight, of being a warrior… Nevertheless, he had chosen to become a Jedi, and Jedi were supposed to lead lives of service, protecting others. But right now, for some reason it felt like a burden.

He then remembered what Wohima had spoken of, “It is never a good thing to live without a beacon or purpose beyond oneself.” The creature had revealed to him.

He then looked at Mara. There it was, his beacon… his purpose.

Luke leaned beside her sleeping figure and took her small hand in both of his. ‘Always be there to kiss me back…’ He sent out through their bond. ‘Thank you for coming after me… for helping me find my way back to you.’ He kissed her hand, feeling so precious under his touch. Then a sudden, subtle warm nudge in the Force.

‘Farmboy… You owe me… Big time!’

The message had felt dimmed in the flow of the Force, but undoubtedly had been Mara’s. Luke smiled at his wife’s irreverent retort, suddenly feeling lighter.

Sitting there next to his beloved, the Jedi felt a renewed hope faintly nesting within his heart. He looked down at her, peacefully resting, her wounds healing rapidly. Yes, she’d be all right… They’d be all right. He’d been at the brink of losing it all, and yet the Force had found a way to show him the way back once more. It always did, even in the slimmest of chances. It had let him feel Mara… and come back to where he belonged.

Love was indeed the strongest force of all.





- The End -

 

So very very happy you posted this here! A riveting poignant sequel to Survivor's Quest.